10/25/2018 1:07:13 PM
According to the CDC, around 50 million Americans suffer from some degree of tinnitus or ringing in their ears. The organization further explains that about 20 million of those people have a chronic issue, while around 2 million suffer from debilitating tinnitus -- and that's just in the US. The Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017 that was signed into law last August aims not just to make hearing aids more accessible, but to give people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss more options besides having to get a doctor's prescription. It allows millions to manage their own health care. As part of that law, the FDA will create a new category of hearing aid, mostly to make sure a manufacturer's claims meet the standards expected for medical devices.